JP2002028418A - Fuel filter and fuel supplying device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel filter formable into an optional shape and a fuel supplying device using the fuel filter. SOLUTION: This fuel filter 40 is arranged on the fuel inflow side of a pump main body to surround the outer periphery of the pump main body. The cylinder part 43 of a core member 41 is mainly constituted of fine resinous materials extended in the axial direction and fuel is made to pass through gaps formed between the adjacent resinous materials. A filter main body 50 has an inner peripheral filter layer 51 formed on the inner peripheral side close to the part 43 of the body 50 and an outer peripheral filter layer 52 formed on the outer peripheral side of the layer 51. The layer 51 is denser than the layer 52. The filter 40 is obtained by immersing the member 41 in the aqueous solution where a fibrous material having the composition of the layers 51 and 52 is dissolved and forming the layer 51 and the layer 52 in this order while sucking the aqueous solution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fuel filter integrally formed of fibrous material including pulp and a fuel supply device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a so-called in-tank type fuel pump, a relatively coarse fuel filter is disposed upstream of a pump body for pressurizing and pumping fuel, and a close fuel filter is disposed downstream. There is. Also, U.S. Pat.
It is known that a filter body is formed by bending filter paper or the like into a chrysanthemum like a fuel pump disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0796.

[0003]

However, if the fuel filter is arranged downstream of the pump body, the fuel pressurized by the pump body flows into the fuel filter, so that the pressure resistance of the fuel filter is ensured. In addition, it is necessary to increase the strength of the support member of the fuel filter and to improve the sealing performance. Therefore, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases. Furthermore, static electricity is generated when fuel passes through the filter body, so it is necessary to ground the filter body and remove the static electricity. Therefore, the number of manufacturing steps increases.

[0004] Further, when a filter paper or the like is bent into a chrysanthemum shape to form a filter main body, it is difficult to form the filter main body into an arbitrary shape. In addition, support plates and the like are required at both ends in the axial direction to support the filter body, and a sound absorbing material such as a rubber cushion is used to reduce the noise generated by the pump body. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of parts increases. An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel filter that can be formed into an arbitrary shape and a fuel supply device using the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device that can easily support a fuel filter.

[0005]

According to the fuel filter of the first or second aspect of the present invention, since the fuel filter is integrally formed of a fibrous material, the fuel filter can have any shape. Here, the fiber material includes pulp. According to the method of manufacturing a fuel filter according to claim 3 of the present invention, since each filter layer is formed by sequentially sucking a coarse aqueous solution from a dense aqueous solution in which a fiber material is dissolved, a core member for sucking the aqueous solution By changing the shape of the fuel filter, a fuel filter having an arbitrary shape can be formed.

According to the fuel filter of the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the core member is used as a support member for the filter body, there is no need to newly provide a support member for the fuel filter. According to the fuel supply device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the fuel filter is disposed on the fuel inflow side of the pump body that pressurizes and sends the fuel. Since the fuel filter is arranged on the low pressure side before the fuel is pressurized by the pump body, a housing for supporting the filter body is not required. Further, since the fuel filter is always in contact with the fuel in the tank and the electric charge of the fuel filter dissipates in the fuel in the tank, there is no need to ground the fuel filter. Therefore, the number of manufacturing steps is reduced.

According to the fuel supply device of the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the fuel filter is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the pump body, the filter body functions to block the operation sound of the pump body. According to the fuel supply device described in claim 7 of the present invention, each component of the fuel supply device can be arranged in the notch or the concave portion provided in the fuel filter, so that the fuel supply device can be downsized.

[0008]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention; (First Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows a fuel supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The fuel supply device 10 has a flange portion 11 fixedly attached to an upper wall of a fuel tank (not shown) integrally formed of resin, and other components are accommodated in the fuel tank.

A fuel discharge pipe 12 and an electrical connector 13 are integrally formed of resin on the flange portion 11. Alternatively, the fuel discharge pipe 12 and the electric connector 13 may be attached to the flange portion 11 as separate components. The fuel discharge pipe 12 is a pipe for discharging the fuel discharged from the pump body 30 housed in the sub tank 20 to the outside of the fuel tank. The fuel discharge pipe 31 of the pump body 30 and the fuel discharge pipe 12 of the flange 11 are connected by a bellows pipe 21. The pressure regulator 14 is connected to the discharge pipe 12, and sets the fuel discharged from the fuel discharge pipe 12 to a predetermined pressure or less. The electrical connector 13 is a lead wire 2
2 electrically connects the electrical connector 32 of the pump body 30 to supply electric power to the pump body 30.

One end of the metal pipe 15 is press-fitted into a cylindrical pipe support portion 11a formed on the flange portion 11, and the other end is loosely inserted into a pipe support portion 20a formed on the sub tank 20. I have. Spring 16
Urges the flange portion 11 and the sub-tank 20 away from each other. With this configuration, even if the resin fuel tank expands and contracts due to a change in internal pressure or a change in fuel amount due to a change in temperature, the bottom of the sub-tank 20 is always kept on the inner bottom wall of the fuel tank by the urging force of the spring 16. It is imposed.

The fuel filter 40 has a core member 41 and a filter main body 50, surrounds the outer periphery of the pump main body 30, and is disposed on the fuel inflow side of the pump main body.
As shown in FIG. 1, the core member 41 is formed of resin, and has a flange portion 42 and a cylindrical portion 43. The cylindrical portion 43 has projections 43a extending in the axial direction and projecting radially at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The cylindrical portion 43 is mainly formed of a thin resin material extending in the axial direction. A gap is formed between the resin materials, and the fuel passes through the gap. Tube part 4
3 is covered with a screen filter.

The filter main body 50 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical portion 43. The filter body 50 includes a filter body 50.
An inner peripheral filter layer 51 on the fuel outflow side near the cylindrical portion 43 of
An outer peripheral filter layer 52 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the inner peripheral filter layer 51 and located on the fuel inflow side. The outer peripheral filter layer 52 has six projections 53 protruding outward in the radial direction. The composition of the projecting portion 53 is the outer peripheral filter layer 5.
Same as 2. The protrusion 53 is in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the sub-tank 20, and the vibration of the pump
0 is reduced.

The inner peripheral filter layer 51 includes an outer peripheral filter layer 52.
More dense. The inner filter layer 51 is made of pulp and thickness 1
The outer peripheral filter layer 52 is formed of pulp or pulp and a fiber material thicker than 1 μm. As a more specific composition of the inner peripheral filter layer 51, for example, a mixture of 35% of pulp, 60% of polyester fiber having a thickness of 1 μm or less, and 5% of glass fiber having a thickness of 1 μm or less can be considered. The composition of the outer peripheral filter layer 52 is 100% pulp or 60% pulp and 1 μm.
Mixing with 40% of polyester fibers thicker than m is conceivable. In addition, by changing the thickness of the fiber material or the mixing ratio with the pulp, that is, the composition, the characteristics required for the fuel filter can be satisfied. Fuel filter 40
The core member 4 is dissolved in an aqueous solution in which a fiber material having the composition of the inner filter layer 51 and the outer filter layer 52 described above is dissolved.
1 is immersed, and the aqueous solution is sucked and formed in the order of the inner peripheral filter layer 51 and the outer peripheral filter layer 52.

Next, the operation of the fuel supply device 10 will be described. When the engine is driven and a drive current is supplied from the electrical connector 13 to the pump body 30, the sub tank 2
The fuel in 0 passes from the outer filter layer 52 to the inner filter layer 51, and is sucked into the pump body 30 from the fuel inlet 45 of the core member 41. The pump body 30 is the filter body 5
The fuel in the sub-tank 20 is sucked through the nozzles 0 and foreign matter is removed, and then the fuel is discharged to the engine through the fuel discharge pipe 12.

The fuel discharged from the fuel discharge pipe 12 is set to a predetermined pressure or lower by a pressure regulator 14.
When excess fuel returned from the pressure regulator 14 into the fuel tank is injected from a jet pump toward a fuel inlet (not shown) of the sub-tank 20, the fuel in the fuel tank is sucked into the sub-tank 20 by the generated suction pressure. .

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows a fuel supply apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Components substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. The fuel tank of the second embodiment is made of metal, and a sub-tank (not shown) is fixed to the fuel tank by welding or the like. The metal pipe 15 is the flange 1
1 and the core member 6 of the fuel filter 60
The core member 61 is connected to the flange portion 11 by the metal pipe 15 because it is press-fitted into the one pipe support portion 61a. The filter main body 70 has the same configuration as that of the filter main body of the first embodiment except that it does not have a protrusion protruding radially outward.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, since the filter body is integrally formed of a fiber material, the filter body can be formed into an arbitrary shape. Therefore, by forming the concave portion or the notch in the filter main body, the components of the fuel supply device disposed on the outer periphery of the fuel filter can be disposed in the concave portion or the notch of the fuel filter. Therefore,
The fuel supply device can be downsized.

Since the fuel filter is arranged only on the fuel inflow side of the pump body 30, low-pressure fuel not pressurized by the pump body passes through the filter body. Therefore, a support member for firmly supporting the fuel filter and a fuel sealing structure are not required.

Further, since the fuel filter is disposed on the fuel inflow side of the pump body 30, the fuel filter is always in contact with the fuel in the tank, and the electric charge of the fuel filter dissipates in the fuel in the tank. Therefore, there is no need to ground the fuel filter, and the number of manufacturing steps is reduced. Further, since the core member used when sucking the aqueous solution of the fiber material is used as it is as the support member of the filter main body, a component for newly supporting the filter main body is unnecessary.

In the above embodiments, the filter main body was formed into two layers, dense and coarse. On the other hand, a filter body having three or more filter layers may be formed by changing the composition of the fiber material. In this case, the dense filter layer located at the most fuel outflow side of the fuel filter is composed of pulp and 1
Forming with a fiber material with a thickness of μm or less, and making the coarser filter layer into two or more layers by changing the thickness of the fiber material larger than 1 μm or the mixing ratio with pulp, that is, changing the composition Is desirable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a fuel filter according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line BOB of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a fuel supply device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a fuel supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 fuel supply device 20 sub tank 30 pump body 40, 60 fuel filter 41, 61 core member 50, 70 filter body 51 inner peripheral filter layer 52 outer peripheral filter layer

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A fuel filter comprising a filter body integrally formed of a fibrous material, wherein the filter body extends from a fuel inflow side to a fuel outflow side such that a fuel inflow side is coarse and a fuel outflow side is dense. A fuel filter comprising a plurality of filter layers, wherein the composition of each layer is different. 2. A dense filter layer located closest to the fuel outflow side is made of pulp and a fiber material having a thickness of 1 μm or less, and another filter layer coarser than this filter layer is pulp or 2. The fuel filter according to claim 1, wherein the filter is formed of pulp and a fiber material larger than 1 μm, and each filter layer is formed by changing a thickness or a mixing ratio of the fiber material larger than 1 μm. 3. The method for manufacturing a fuel filter according to claim 1, wherein the core member is immersed in an aqueous solution in which a fibrous material is dissolved, and a coarse aqueous solution is sucked in order from a dense aqueous solution to each of the filter members. Forming a layer. 4. A fuel filter manufactured by the method for manufacturing a fuel filter according to claim 3, wherein the core member is used as a support member for a filter body. 5. A pump body for pressurizing and feeding fuel, and a pump body disposed on a fuel inflow side of the pump body.
Or a fuel supply device comprising the fuel filter according to 4. 6. The fuel supply device according to claim 5, wherein the fuel filter is disposed on an outer peripheral side of the pump body. 7. The fuel supply device according to claim 5, wherein a cutout or a recess is formed in the fuel filter.